Popcorn Spice

A few years ago the simple and commonplace popcorn received a new lease on life. This is not to say that popcorn had fallen in popularity, as it still remains a staple for movie-going audiences, but beyond the multiplex it just doesn't compete with any number of chips, salty snacks, and bagged delectable. Then along came kettle corn (that mix of sweet and salty popcorn) and people began excitedly reconsidering the relatively healthy popcorn as a worthy vehicle of interesting flavor. Soon the quotidian butter was near obsolete, and people began putting all sorts of toppings, seasonings, and even mustard on their once unadorned popcorn.

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Enter Bandiola Spice Popcorn Seasoning: Now the idea of a seasoning dedicated to popcorn still strikes me as odd and slightly superfluous, but I am willing to go with it for the sake of snack fulfillment. Where salt and butter once used to reign supreme, Bandiola Spice Popcorn Seasoning advances typical popcorn into a realm of sweet, salty, and generously spicy. While the ingredients listed in this pour-on seasoning hardly reveal the recipe (sugar, salt, special spices, etc) it is safe to say that there is a fair amount of paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, and maybe even some white and black pepper. The sugar to salt ratio is well balanced, and the heat of the peppers and paprika work as a munchie grace note to the whole experience.

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While I think that I prefer the simplicity of boring old sea salt on my popcorn, the addition of this flavor profile certainly does add dimension and flavor to the popcorn bowl. Bandiola Spice also makes a number of other spice mixtures for pork, chicken, steak, ribs, and BBQ.

Bandiola Spice Popcorn Seasoning ($5.99 per 160-gram shaker container) is a homegrown Nebraska-based product and available at various boutique retailers and online.